Lesotho - Agriculture

Agriculture employs a modest 57 percent of the
labor force
, mostly on subsistence farms. This figure is lower than similar
developing countries as the mountain environment offers less terrain for
growing crops and many adult males work in South African mines. While
the CIA
World Factbook
estimates that 35 percent of the male wage earners do work in South
African mines, it also estimates that 86 percent of the resident
population is involved in subsistence agriculture, a much higher number.

Most crops and livestock are produced in small villages distant from the
major roads. The products are consumed locally with the surplus shipped
for sale and profit in outside markets. Maize, wheat, and sorghum
predominate. As a percentage of the GDP, farming has declined from 50
percent in the 1970s, to just 18 percent in 2000. During the 1990s,
about 13 percent of the country was cultivated. This amount is shrinking
as soil erosion, droughts, and the destruction of farm equipment during
civil unrest in 1998 take a cumulative toll. To stimulate exports to
South Africa, the government is
liberalizing price controls
, improving roads, and encouraging monocropping of cut flowers,
asparagus, and fruits.

Most farmers also raise livestock to supplement crops and maintain
"food security" during drought years when crop yields are
low. Animal husbandry is important everywhere and is often the only
revenue source in the higher elevations. Sheep and goats that produce
meat, milk, and very high quality wool and mohair are the most important
animals. Cattle are also increasing because they fetch more lucrative
contracts.

Lesotho's forest cover is very fragmented as neither the arid
lowlands nor the colder highlands favor tree growth. The best stands are
in riparian sites (located on the bank of a natural watercourse) and in
sheltered mountain hillsides. Aggressive wood collection for cooking,
warmth, and home construction prevents trees from attaining commercial
stature. The Ministry of Agriculture manages one 874-hectare
(2,518-acre) forest reserve of mostly rapidly growing eucalyptus.
Fishing resources are also minimal in this landlocked country with no
significant lakes. There is sport fishing for river trout, and village
cooperatives are experimenting with fishponds (mostly carp) to boost
protein in the local diet.

Please may i have full information about production of grain in Lesotho (maize, wheat and sorguhum)from 1850 to 1950. if possible the data should therefore be presented in a tabular form i.e year maize wheat sorguhum. It is the assignment.